Dec. 7, 2011

Box Score | Highlights/Interviews

Sophomore G Akeem Williams (Brockton, Mass.) scored a game-high 26 points while sophomore F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) added 19 as UMass Lowell defeated Saint Anselm College, 82-79, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

The win was the second straight for the River Hawks, who improved to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the NE-10 entering Saturday's home game against Franklin Pierce (4:00). Saint Anselm suffered its fifth straight loss and slipped to 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the Conference and host Bloomfield Friday, Dec. 30 at 3:00.

"That was a wild game, but again we came out on top on our home court," said head coach Greg Herenda. "Boch (senior F John Corbacio) got us off to a fast start and Akeem was very hard to guard the entire evening."

Williams and Bivins each converted 8 of 12 field goal attempts while Williams also hit 8 of 11 free throws and dished three assists. Bivins grabbed six rebounds and dealt two assists.

Senior G Robbie Walton (South Boston, Mass.) posted the second double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds, matching a career-high, along with three key steals. The River Hawks also got a nice lift from sophomore F Darrell Ward (White Plains, N.Y.), who chipped in eight points (4-5 FG shooting) and grabbed five rebounds in only 12 minutes.

"The key momentum changer came from our press and Robbie Walton's steals," Herenda noted. "Our press was very effective in the second half."

Sophomore F Allen Harris led Saint Anselm with 19 points on 8-13 FG shooting while senior G Hakeem Williams came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting 5-7 field goals and 3-5 from long range.

Freshman G Roy Mabrey added 16 points, five steals and four assists while sophomore G Dino Mallios chipped in 15 points, seven assists, five steals and five rebounds while shooting 5-10 from the field.

UMass Lowell shot .533 for the game (32-60), including .516 in the second half (16-31) while Saint Anselm shot .556 in the first half (15-27), but struggled to a .379 clip in the second (11-29).

Led by Bivins, UMass Lowell outscored Saint Anselm 30-19 off the bench. The River Hawks also had a 10-4 advantage on second chance points, the result of an 11-5 edge on offensive rebounds (39-25 overall).

The advantages buffered Saint Anselm's 21-12 lead at the free throw line.

Saint Anselm had a 63-57 lead with 9:20 left to play, but the River Hawks came up with a 14-4 spurt to snatch a 71-67 lead with 5:52 remaining. Bivins led the run with six points while Walton and Williams added four apiece.

The Hawks cut the lead to 75-74 on a jumper by Mabrey, but Williams answered with three free throws and a jumper to give UMass Lowell an 80-75 lead with 1:19 left.

Saint Anselm cut the lead to 81-79 with 42 seconds left on a jumper by Williams. Walton hit the second of two free throws with seven seconds left, and a 3-point attempt by Saint Anselm G John Nielsen was off the mark as time expired.